Insurance gaps and financial hardship for commercially insured people with cancer after the Affordable Care Act
Financial and Clinical Outcomes among Commercially-Insured Cancer Patients following the Affordable Care Act
This project looks at whether commercially insured people with cancer still face gaps in care and financial harm after the Affordable Care Act.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11117187 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or someone you know had commercial insurance and cancer, this project looks at whether that coverage still leaves gaps in care or leads to financial trouble. The team links cancer registry records to commercial claims from Regence and Premera, credit and bankruptcy records from TransUnion, Medicaid enrollment, and voter-file controls for people diagnosed 2009–2022 in Washington State. They will compare neighborhood, clinical, insurance, and financial measures to see who experiences care shortfalls or financial hardship. The linked database is updated annually to track trends over time and point to policy or program changes that might help.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The focus is on people with commercial health insurance who were diagnosed with cancer in Washington State during 2009–2022 and whose records appear in the linked data sources.
Not a fit: People who are uninsured, have only Medicare or Medicaid, live outside Washington State, or whose insurers are not included in the dataset are unlikely to be included or directly helped by this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could identify who is most at risk and inform changes in insurance policy and programs to reduce care gaps and financial hardship for people with cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research has documented financial toxicity in cancer patients, but combining cancer registry, commercial claims, credit, and bankruptcy records in a single person-linked database is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Seattle, United States
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center — Seattle, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ramsey, Scott D. — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Study coordinator: Ramsey, Scott D.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.